At least 67% of consumers are comfortable texting a business for appointments or inquiries rather scheduling through email and call. So if you’re thinking about taking your SMS marketing to the next level, you’re on the right track. Due to our ever-evolving technology there are a lot of SMS marketing platforms to choose from. In this article, let’s take a deep dive and learn if ClickSend is one of the best SMS platforms out there.
ClickSend Software Overview
ClickSend is an SMS software for any type of business worldwide. Other than sending, receiving, and tracking SMS, it lets businesses send marketing or transactional memos to clients. It lets users send SMS using two ways:
From a user dashboard, using ClickSend’s SMS gateway.
Using a designed application program interface.
How Does It Work?
ClickSend is one of the popular cloud-based providers for SMS. It offers a variety of features to address client’s SMS marketing needs and more. For example, brands can send and receive memos through API or dashboard via:
SMS
MMS
Faxing
Email Messaging
Text-to-speech calls
Letters via online cloud
Rich messaging channel
What Types of Businesses Uses ClickSend?
The SMS software is meant for medium and large enterprises. Specifically, the provider caters to industries such as:
IT
Retail
Advertising
Marketing
eCommerce
Hospitality
Healthcare
Banking and finance
Sporting associations
Transport and logistics
Non-profit organizations
Emergency services
ClickSend Features
Other than sending inbound and outbound SMS, ClickSend is a reliable provider that can improve communication. It allows users to:
Send bills or invoices
Offer customer service via text message
Personalize advertising
Manage and analyze marketing leads
Oversee delivery communications with the suppliers
Send our promos to customers
Remind customers about meetings and event via SMS
ClickSend: Pros and Cons
In this section, let’s weigh the pros and cons of using ClickSend as the SMS provider of your business.
ClickSend Pros
Pay-as-you-go system
Unlike other SMS providers, ClickSend only charges what you use. No need to pay for anything that’s not relevant to your business needs. You only need to pay for the company’s outgoing messages. There might be instances where your provider will charge some incoming messages. With this system, say goodbye to the wasteful monthly maintenance fee that’s never applicable to the services you REALLY need.
Refund policy
Within a 14-day time frame, you can request for a refund. All you need to do is request within the time frame, and the ClickSend team will review your case.
ClickSend will beat comparable cheaper quotes
According to ClickSend, they can bet cheaper quotes by other SMS providers. So before you inquire about their custom pricing, be sure to check the prices from ClickSend alternatives.
Internal and external communications
The software allows users to communicate via email, SMS, voice calls and faxes. It allows your business to connect externally with clients and internally with the staff members. The other perks of using it is the ability to reply to inbound messages directly from its platform. It saves you the hassle of switching applications.
SMS gateway
Users highly praise the convenient SMS features of ClickSend. More specifically, they love its reply features that carry nearly any carrier options.
Wider customer range
You can reach most countries without registration and additional cost. However, some countries need pre-registration, it depends on the regulation and restrictions of the country.
Stellar customer support
The company offers great customer support for their users. You can reach ClickSend’s sales or support team via live chat. It’s also possible to access the Knowledge Base section of their website in case your inquiry has been addressed there.
User-friendly software
Generally, ClickSend is simple to use. Users can easily upload their client contact list and send out bulk messages if needed.
Be up-to-date
ClickSend has simple reporting and engagement metric features. It’s a convenient tool to let users see the exact numbers of the messages they’ve sent. Also, you can keep track of how many text messages bounced, so it allows you to act more efficiently.
Zapier Integration
If your business uses Zapier, ClickSend has pre-built zaps for easy marketing automation.
ClickSend Cons
Data export and sharing insights is not possible
As mentioned in the pros, ClickSend allows a simple reporting feature. However, it’s too simple. If you need to export and share your business insights, there’s no easy way available using the software.
SMS campaign issues
Some users complain about a few issues in creating their SMS campaigns. There will be moments where you need to modify or adjust some settings. Others say that they need to recreate the copy of their campaign entirely, and go back to step one.
Character limit
ClickSend has a tight character limit. It also does not allow you to use any emoji on your text as it automatically sets your SMS into “two messages.” As the pricing works on a per text basis, you might want to limit your message to one per recipient.
Not great for time-sensitive SMS campaigns
Some reviews also say that sticking to a time-limited campaign is not easy. Basically, whenever you send out an SMS memo, ClickSend needs to approve them. So while the team conducts their approval process, this might cause a setback for campaigns that needed to be released on schedule. To avoid this possible issue, it’s best to set up your SMS campaign in advance.
Not the SMS marketing software for developers
ClickSend is a simple SMS provider. So if you’re a developer, it will appear “too simple” in your perspective. As it is a great tool for marketers, ClickSend is not the software if you’re a developer. It’s not the ideal SMS marketing platform if you plan to do a lot of customized programming and automation.
ClickSend Pricing Plan
One of the pros of using ClickSend is their pay as you go pricing plan for outbound messages. It means you only need to pay for the services you’ve use.
Outbound SMS Pricing
ClickSend’s rate per estimated messages:
Under 2,000 messages, $0.0271 per SMS
2,000 or more, $0.0194 per SMS
10,000 or more, $0.0132 per SMS
100,000 or more, $0.0097 per SMS
For outbound messages higher than 200,000 you’ll need to contact ClickSend’s team to give your business a quotation.
Inbound SMS Pricing
Always FREE
Dedicated ClickSend Number
$1.94 per month, no setup fee needed
Dedicated Shortcode
$1123.32 per month
$1123.32 setup fee
ClickSend: Frequently Asked Questions
Does ClickSend offer a free trial sign up?
Yes. ClickSend offers a limited free trial.
Is it possible for multiple users to share one account?
It’s possible to add, manage and view as many accounts needed in your team. As the account owner, you can designate employees their own “subaccounts.”
Does ClickSend have a character limit per message
We have two categories when it comes to ClickSend’s character limit:
Standard
Users have a 160-character limit per one Standard message.
Unicode
Unicode messages only allow up to 70 characters.
Is it worth it to use ClickSend?
In the end, ClickSend is one of the best SMS marketing platforms that boasts high ratings from users. It has a user-friendly software that delivers efficient, reliable and satisfying results.
Alternatives You Should Know About
If you’re still undecided if ClickSend is perfect SMS software for your business, you can explore other alternatives: